When someone used to say the term “alternative music,” most people would think of jangly, tuneless guitars playing behind a whiny voice. It used to be hard to access, giving the term a little bit of validity. However, with the ’90s came the rise in popularity of alternative music. All of a sudden, everybody and their brother seemed to be into it. Flannel shirt sales must have increased tenfold.

As I was growing up, I listened to “alternative” bands like the Cure, Descendants and Jane’s Addiction. They weren’t incredibly successful in a commercial sense, but they all established a cult following that allowed them to make music. It was hard to discuss my favorite bands with people, since they usually had never heard of the bands I spoke of.

But thanks to Nirvana (more or less), alternative music was thrust into the mainstream. Their Nevermind number one album dethroned the likes of Michael Jackson from the top of the pop charts. Since then, alternative style has been anything but. MTV is forcing it down its viewers’ throats. The “grunge” style of clothing (i.e., flannels and such) hit the runway at many fashion shows. Ugh.

I am appalled by these events. It has changed everything in the music world, from the musicians that make the music to the people that buy the records.

First of all, there has been a huge wave of new bands that try to capture this alternative sound. Bands like Stone Temple Pilots rode the coat tails of groundbreaking artists, using their sound-alike style to achieve popularity. If a relatively talentless band can sound like a popular band, it equals big bucks these days.

Then there are the people that got into the alternative scene once it was deemed “cool” by society. They don’t wince when they hear Pearl Jam referred to as alternative, and buy their flannel shirts at Dayton’s for $35. Appalling, at the risk of sounding redundant.

These people think songs like REM’s “Everybody Hurts” is an incredible journey into the human emotion. Please. If they had any encounters with REM’s previous works they would be disappointed. Take a listen to “World Leader Pretend” or “Exhuming McCarthy,” and you will see REM at their best.

Then there are the fans that suddenly hate alternative just because a lot of people seem to like it. Even though the band’s style of music doesn’t change, early fans dismiss them solely because they now have more fans. In other words, the band has supposedly sold out.

These people abandon the bands they previously liked, find the most obscure group around, and make them their favorite band. This person is more of a “poseur” than any bandwagon-jumping fan out there.

I think it’s a rather simple process when deciding what bands to listen to. Do not listen to a band because it’s cool to do it. Do not listen to a band just because nobody else does. Listen to bands that you truly like. Sounds too simple, doesn’t it? Yet some people continue to miss the point.

Christopher Clair is a junior in journalism from Waukon.